Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has criticised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over his decision to spend three weeks in Europe, saying the move reflects a “disturbing vacuum of political leadership” amid the hardship confronting Nigerians.
Atiku, in a statement, said Nigeria might not be facing a constitutional vacuum, but argued that the country was experiencing a leadership vacuum as citizens grapple with rising living costs, insecurity and high transportation fares.
He said there was a fundamental difference between the travels of a private citizen and those of a sitting President, stressing that the President’s primary responsibility was to remain responsive to the challenges facing the country.
“I have travelled, lived and spent time abroad, and I have never pretended otherwise. But there is a fundamental difference between the travels of a private citizen and the responsibility of the sitting President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” Atiku said.
He listed high petrol prices, food shortages, rising transport fares and insecurity among the challenges confronting Nigerians, arguing that the situation required the President’s attention.
“Consider what Bola Tinubu is leaving behind. Petrol priced beyond the reach of ordinary people. Families rationing food. Transport fares that have turned a journey to one’s own village into a luxury. Insecurity that buries Nigerians week after week,” he said.
Atiku also questioned the timing of Tinubu’s trip, noting that Vice President Kashim Shettima was also abroad on official duty.
“The Vice President is abroad on official duty. That makes the President’s decision even more difficult to understand,” he said.
According to him, leadership goes beyond occupying a constitutional office and requires the ability to recognise when the country needs the President’s presence.
“Leadership is not merely the constitutional right to occupy an office; it is the judgment to know when your country needs you at home,” Atiku said.
Using an analogy, the former Vice President said a leader should remain with his people during a crisis rather than leave when the situation becomes difficult.
“A father may travel when all is well. But when his roof is burning and his family is trapped inside, he does not pick up his suitcase and head for the airport,” he said.
Atiku maintained that his criticism was not against presidential travel or rest, but against what he described as the President’s decision to travel at a time when Nigerians were facing severe economic difficulties.
“It is not that a President must never rest or travel. It is that Nigeria is burning, and the President has chosen a boarding pass over the fire extinguisher,” he said.
He further criticised the administration’s economic policies, saying millions of Nigerians were struggling to afford basic transportation and other necessities.
“Millions of Nigerians are being grounded by hardship while their President is airborne. The people can barely afford to move, but the President keeps moving,” Atiku said.
He also accused the government of failing to adequately address the hardship created by its policies.
“A government that cannot feel the pain it inflicts will never summon the will to end it,” he said.
Atiku concluded by promising to pursue policies aimed at reducing the cost of living if given the opportunity to lead the country.
“Tinubu made Nigeria expensive. I will make Nigeria affordable again,” he said.